Trickling device

ABSTRACT

In a trickling apparatus ( 1 ) for producing thin vertical surfaces of a pressure-sensitive trickling material that floats downwards, the trickling material is received in a supply container ( 2 ) having an electrically driven roller ( 5 ) located underneath or in the supply container. The roller ( 5 ) has a smooth surface ( 8 ) and cams ( 9 ) on said surface that pick up and release the trickling material. When the roller or the tube ( 5 ) rotates, the material trickles into the open through the opening ( 4 ) in the base of the supply container ( 2 ).

The invention relates to an elongate trickling apparatus for producingthin vertical surfaces of pressure-sensitive material that floatsdownwards, in particular artificial snow, confetti and/or glitterparticles, in indoor spaces over a relatively long period of time whilstmaintaining consistent quality, in particular for decorative orpresentation purposes using the most simple and cost-effective means andwhilst eliminating the potential for all disturbances as far aspossible, for stalls, for display windows and as a visual effect forappropriate events.

Snow machines for theatre stages and TV sets are known. The effect ofsnow that trickles downwards (artificial snow or white confetti) isproduced across the surface of a scene using meshes in pull rods orusing fans which are filled by hand. There are also snow machines on themarket which produce flakes by means of a snow fluid that are likewisedistributed by means of fans across the desired surfaces and thendisintegrate on the ground, leaving practically no residue behind. Thesesolutions are not suited to being used, or even cannot be used at all,as envisaged here on stalls or in display windows.

WO 2013/174374 A1 discloses a precipitation simulator that has acollecting surface onto which the precipitates can fall, and a tube thatextends from the lowest point of the collecting surface to atransporting device and from this point upwards as far as a nozzle. Bymeans of the transporting device, the precipitate can be transported tothe nozzle at the upper end of the tube where it can be released viaoutlet openings in the nozzle. An ionization system arranged on thenozzle prevents the outlet holes from becoming clogged.

US 2004/0056110 A1 discloses a machine for creating the illusion ofsnow, in which a liquid solution is pumped to a generator that producesflakes and the flakes produced are then distributed by means of awhirling air current generated by the fan.

An apparatus known from GB 907 704 A for producing artificial snowcomprises an elongate box that is cuboid in cross section and into whichsnow material is filled. On two opposite sides, the box has slit-shapedopenings which extend across the entire length of the box and out ofwhich snow material can trickle when the box is rotated about itslongitudinal axis by means of a motor.

GB 2 460 171 A discloses an apparatus for generating snowfall that hasan elongate, tubular container into which the snow material is filled.The container comprises a plurality of openings by means of which thesnow material can trickle out when openings are formed downwardly in anoutlet position by rotating the container by means of a drive.

If an attempt is made to produce a circuit which constantly sucks thetrickling material from the ground and transports it upwards throughpipes by means of a fan in order for it to then be again trickleddownwards therefrom, the problem arises that all materials havingattractive floating properties, such as artificial snow or glitter,glide poorly along a surface. The gliding surface necessary fordelivering material of this kind back to the suction device thereforehas to be very steep. This requires a corresponding construction heightand a surface above said glide surface that will let the materialthrough, such as gratings. This requires a substructure thatconsiderably restricts the use of such apparatuses and, for a number ofreasons, even makes it impossible to use them. Furthermore, a powerfulair current is required to transport the material a few metres upwards.This generates noise, which is also highly undesirable, in the case ofsnowfall for example, and entails high risks of disturbances caused byclogging, the supply being interrupted, lack of homogeneity, staticcharge, etc. Furthermore, the wider the vertical surface desired, themore difficult it is to produce one that is visually uniform.

The materials for a thin vertical precipitation surface (mainlyartificial snow and glitter) that are intended here are most visuallyeffective if they have particularly good floating properties. Theartificial snow consists, for example, of very light plastics flakes(known in specialist circles as “Hollywood snow”) that are highlypressure-sensitive and cluster together very easily. As a result, theclusters no longer float to the ground; rather, they fall to the ground.The same applies to the most attractive and most effective glitterparticles, which, for this reason, have previously only been used in“glitter cannons”, accordingly filled fireworks or by hand inconjunction with fans, and which can therefore only be used tointermittent effect and in the form of large clouds, but not in the formof thin, uniformly trickling surfaces over a relatively long period oftime.

For this reason, none of the known trickling apparatuses and dosingapparatuses are suitable for loose material for the purpose intendedhere on the additional basis that, in such apparatuses, according to theoperating principle of pumps, the trickling material is picked up byrollers or cylinders in open spaces and pressed or squashed on the edgeof the housing.

The object of the invention is to provide an elongate tricklingapparatus having a supply container for pressure-sensitive tricklingmaterial, such as artificial snow and glitter particles, for producing,as a visual effect, thin vertical surfaces of material that floatsdownwards for stalls, display windows and for appropriate events, whichapparatus can be produced using the simplest of means, whilsteliminating the potential for disturbances as far as possible, is asflexible and versatile as possible, can be used with as littlerestriction as possible, and allows for the trickling material to bereleased without risk of it being squashed or compacted and withoutpressure being applied to the trickling material.

In the application having the application number 10 2014 104 123.2, theobject is achieved by the trickling material being received in a supplycontainer having an electrically driven hollow roller that is locatedunderneath said container, has a smooth surface, and receives andreleases the trickling material via holes in the surface. When theroller rotates, the material trickles into the roller via the upperholes and into the open via the lower holes. At no point is thetrickling material transported mechanically; it trickles out of thesupply container by itself by force of gravity and through the slowlyrotating roller into the open, and from there it floats to the ground.

It has been shown that there is trickling material that is solarge-flaked and light that it is not able to trickle through hollowrollers by itself. It has also been shown that there is light,large-flaked trickling material that forms blockages in the supplycontainer above the rotating roller and thus forms “bridges”. The“bridges” thus formed then prevent the trickling material from gettinginto the roller. The trickling effect is thus disrupted.

The object of the invention is therefore to eliminate the stateddrawback and provide a trickling apparatus of the type indicated thatallows for large-flaked, light trickling material to trickle withoutdisruption.

This object is achieved by a trickling apparatus having the featuresindicated in claim 1. Advantageous embodiments of the tricklingapparatus are indicated in the dependent claims.

The embodiments of the trickling apparatus according to the inventionare based on the following considerations:

A:

In order for large flakes to trickle in a uniform manner, small cams arearranged on the sealed roller, instead of holes. The cams transportindividual flakes through the brush strips into the open, which producesa lasting and highly uniform trickling effect.

B:

In order to prevent the formation of bridges of large-flaked tricklingmaterial in the supply container, a tube having rods arrangedperpendicularly to the rotational axis are used instead of the hollowroller, which tube keeps the trickling material moving in the supplycontainer. The rotational axis is positioned at the height of the loweredge of the brushes.

C:

If the axis of the tube having the rods arranged perpendicularly theretois moved in its entirety into the supply container, the supply containeris no longer downwardly closed off. In the base of the supply container,there are openings which are precisely adapted to each tricklingmaterial. Said holes are of just the right size such that the tricklingmaterial does not fall through by itself when the apparatus is not inoperation; rather, it is only transported into the open by the rods ofthe “agitator” that slide past. The base can comprise individuallyformed openings or can consist of a grate having the appropriate grid,the latter being technically less complex. Highly uniform tricklingeffects, using even the most problematic trickling materials, are thusachieved.

These variants of the trickling apparatus are thus very well suited toeven the most problematic of trickling materials. In order to preventthe trickling material from being released in an uncontrolled manner,the supply container is closed off either by brush strips that sweepover the smooth surface of the roller or of the tube or by appropriateopenings in the base of the supply container.

Only very little material is necessary for a uniform image and for afascinating visual effect, meaning that the material in the supplycontainer can easily last for a whole day. The shape of the supplycontainer and the arrangement of the drive unit are designed such thatindividual modules can be joined side-by-side without any gaps. Thelength and the height of the vertical visual effect surface are thuslimitless. The supply container can be filled quickly and easily byhand. It is also conceivable to suspend the trickling apparatus usingcords and small rollers such that it can be lowered for filling. It isalso conceivable to equip the supply container with a commerciallyavailable suction means having a long flexible hose, such that thetrickling material on the ground can be sucked up and sent directly backinto the supply container.

The invention is described in greater detail in the following withreference to embodiments of the invention shown in the drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a cross section of a trickling apparatus according to conceptA,

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the trickling apparatus according toFIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a cross section of the arrangement according to concept B,

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the trickling apparatus according toFIG. 3,

FIG. 5 is a cross section of a trickling apparatus according to conceptC,

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the trickling apparatus according toFIG. 5,

FIG. 7 is a cross section of a further embodiment of a tricklingapparatus according to the invention,

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the trickling apparatus according toFIG. 7.

In the following description of the figures, the same reference numeralsare used for parts that correspond to one another.

The trickling apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 comprises a supplycontainer 2 that is open at the top, has a cuboid basic shape and isintended for receiving trickling material. The supply container 2 istapered in the shape of a funnel at its lower end by sloped base walls 3and comprises, at its lowest point, a rectangular, slit-shaped opening 4that extends in the longitudinal direction.

Underneath the opening 4, there is a roller 5 that is rotatably mountedon the end walls 6 of the supply container 2, which are extendeddownwards beyond the opening 4, and that can be driven by an electricmotor 7 attached to the supply container 2. The roller 5 is sealed atits surface, has a cylindrical roller surface 8 and is provided with asmooth roller surface on its exterior. A plurality of pin-likeprotrusions or cams 9 are attached to the roller 5 and are arranged at aregular distance from one another.

The rotational axis of the roller 5 extends in parallel with thelongitudinal edges of the opening 4, and there are gaps between thelongitudinal edges and the roller surface that are closed off byflexible sealing elements 10. The sealing elements 10 are secured to theedges of the opening 4 and have portions that abut the roller surface 8and are formed by brushes 11. The purpose of the sealing elements 10 isto retain trickling material carried along by the roller 5 when saidroller rotates. The cams 9 pick up individual flakes during therotational movement and transport them through the sealing elements 10into the open.

FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 show a trickling apparatus 101 which is appropriate inparticular for large-flaked trickling material and in which the roller 5consists of a comparatively thin, cylindrical tube from which rods 14oriented at right angles to the rotational axis and arranged at adistance from one another protrude. The exposed length of the rods 14corresponds approximately to the external diameter of the roller 5. Therods can thus be freely moved through the brushes 11 of the sealingelements 10 provided that the brushes 11 are provided with bristles ofan appropriate length. As in the trickling apparatus 1, the rotationalaxis of the roller is, here too, located underneath the opening 4,approximately in the line of intersection of two planes that extend thebase walls 3.

In the trickling apparatus 201 shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, the roller 5designed similarly to the trickling apparatus 101 is located above theopening 4 inside the supply container 2. The opening 4 is closed off bya grate 15, the openings of which are of such a size that the tricklingmaterial in the supply container 2 does not fall through the grateopenings by itself when the apparatus is not in operation. However, whenthe roller 5 is rotated, the agitation of the trickling material thusprovoked causes the material to pass through the grate 15 in doses, asis favourable for the effect of snow.

In the trickling apparatus 301 shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, the supplycontainer 2 is provided with a flat base wall 3 that comprisesslit-shaped openings 304 that extend perpendicularly to the rotationalaxis of the roller 5 at a regular distance from one another. Theopenings 304 are each located underneath a point on the roller 5 whichis provided with two diametrical rods 14. Here, the length of the rods14 is greater than the distance of the roller 5 from the base wall 3such that, when the roller 5 rotates, the ends of the rods 14 penetratethe openings 304 and the rods are pushed therethrough. In this way, therods 14 cause the trickling material to be actively fed through theopenings 304.

1. Trickling apparatus for pressure-sensitive trickling material, whichis intended for producing, as a visual effect, thin vertical,curtain-like surfaces of material that floats downwards, and which has asupply container (2) for the trickling material, an elongate slit-shapedopening (4) formed on the lower end of the supply container (2) forreleasing the trickling material, a roller (5) that is locatedunderneath or above the slit-shaped opening (4), is driven by a motor,is rotatable about a rotational axis and has substantially a smooth andsealed roller surface (8) on which a plurality of small cams (9) or rods(14) are arranged that protrude from the roller surface (8). 2.Trickling apparatus according to claim 1, comprising flexible sealingelements (10) that are arranged on the longitudinal edges of theslit-shaped opening (4), which extend in the direction of the rotationalaxis, slide on the roller surface (8) and are designed to avoid the cams(9) or rods (14) or have recesses in the region of the movement paths ofthe cams (9) or rods (14).
 3. Trickling apparatus according to claim 1,wherein a plurality of elongate slit-shaped openings is formed on thelower end of the supply container (2), which are of such a size that thetrickling material in the supply container does not trickle through theopenings by itself when the apparatus is not in operation, the rotatableroller (5) being arranged inside the supply container (2) and above theslit-shaped openings in such a way that trickling material istransported through the openings into the open by the rods (14) slidingpast.
 4. Trickling apparatus according to claim 1, wherein elongateslit-shaped openings (304) are formed on the lower end of the supplycontainer and each extend in the direction of the movement path of a rod(14) associated with the slit-shaped opening (304), and wherein the rods(14) are moved through the openings (304) when the roller (5) isrotated.